The Magic of Thinking Big

1. THE MAGIC
OFTHINKING
.
DAVID J. ~CHWARTZ, PH.D.
A FIRESIDE BOOK
Published by Sint01.t & Sc1lUster .
New York London Toronto Sydney

2. I
FIRESIDE
Rockefeller Center
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Copyright © 1959, 1965 by Prentice-Hall, Inc.
Al! rights reserved,
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in whole or in part in any form.
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please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-800-456-6798
or business@simonandschuster.com.
Designed by Mary Austin Speaker
Manufactured in the United States of America
80 79 78
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Schwartz, David Joseph.
The magic of thinking big / David Joseph Schwartz.
p. em.
"A Fireside booK."
Includes index.
1. Success. L Title.
BP637.S86S36 1987
-158'.1--dc19 87-8516
ISBN-13: 978-0-671-64678-3
ISBN-IO: 0-671-64678-8

3. Fof David III
Our six-year-old son, David, felt mighty big when he was graduated
from kindergarten. 1 asked him what he plans to be when he
Hnishes growing up. Davey looked at me intently for a moment and
then answered, "Dad, 1want to be a professor."
'J. professor? A professor of what?" 1asked.
"Well, Dad," he replied, "I think 1want to be a professor of
happiness."
'J. professor of happiness! That's a pretty wonderful ambition,
don't you think?"
To David, then, a fme boy with a grand goal, and to his
mother, this book is dedicated.

5. CONTENTS
Preface 1
What This Book Will Do for You 5
1, Believe You Can Succeed an-d You Will 9
2, Cure Yourself of Excusitis, the Failure Disease 25
3, Build Confidence and Destroy Fear 49
4, How to Think Big 75
5, How to Think and Dream Creatively 100
6, You Are What You Think You Are 126
7, Manage Your EnvironmeHt: Go First Class 146
8, Make Your Attitudes Your Allies 166
9, Think Right Toward People 192
10, Get the Action Habit 212
11 , How to Tum Defeat into Victory 235
12, Use Goals to Help You Grow 252
13, How to Think like a Leader 275
Index 303

7. PREFACE
Why this big book? Why a full-scale discussion of The Magic of
Thinking Big? Thousands of-books will be published this year. Why
·one more?
Permit me to give yon just a little background.
Several years ago I witnessed an exceptionally impressive
sales meeting. The vice president in charge of marketing for this
company was tremendously excited. He wanted to drive home
a point. He had with him on the platform the leading represen-
~ative in the organization, a vety ordinary-looking fellow, who
earned in the yearjust endedjust a little under $60,000. The earn-
ings of other representatives averaged $12,000.
The executive challenged the group. Here is what he said: "I
want you to take a good look at Harry. Look at him! Now, what's
Harry got that the rest of you haven't? Harry earned five times
the average, but is Harry five times smarter? No, not according
to our personnel tests. I checked. They show he's about avet:age
in that department.
'lilld did Harry work five times harder than you fellows?
No-not according ro the reports. In fact, he took more time off
than most of yon.
[

8. 2 PREfAGE
"Did Harry have a better territory? Again I've got to say no.
The accounts averaged about the same. Did Harry have more
education? Better health? Again, no. Harry is about as average as
an average guy could be except for one thing.
"The difterence between Harry and the rest of you," said
the vice president, "the difference is that Harry thought five
times bigger."
Then the executive proceeded to show that success is deter-
mined not so much by the size of one's brain as it is by the size
of one's thinking.
This was an intriguing thought. And it stayed with me. The
more I observed, the more people I talked with, the deeper I dug
into what's really behind success, the clearer was the answer.
Case history after case history proved that the size of bank
accounts, the size of happiness accounts, and the size of one's
general satisfaction account is dependent on the size ofone's think-
ing. There is magic in thinking big.
"If Thinking Big accomplishes so much, why doesn't every-
one think that way?" I've been asked that question many times.
Here, I believe, is the answer. All of us, more than we recognize,
are products of the thinking around us. And much of this thinking
is little, not big. All around you is an environment that is trying
to tug you, trying to pull you down Second Class Street. You are
told almost daily that there are "too many chiefs and not enough
Indians." In other words, that opportunities to lead no longer exist,
that there is a surplus of chiefs, so be content to be a little guy.
But this "too many chiefs" idea simply doesn't square with
the truth. Leading people in all occupations will tell you, as
they've told me, that "the trouble is, there are too many Indians
and not nearly enough chiefs."

9. PREFACE 3
This pettily petty environment says other things too. It
tells you; "Whatever will be will be," that your destiny is outside
your control, that "fate" is in complete control. So forget those
dreams, forget that finer home, forget that special college for the
children, forgft the better life. Be· resigned. Lie down and wait
to die.
And who hasn't heard the statement that "Success, isn't
worth the price," as if you have to sell your soul, your family
life, your conscience, your set of values to reach the top. But, in
truth, success doesn't demand a price. Every step forward pays
a dividend.
This environment also tells us there's too much competi-
tion for the top spots in life. But is there? A personnel selection
.executive told me that he receives 50 to 250 times as many
applicants for jobs that pay $10,000 per year as for jobs that pay
$50,000 a year. This is to say that there is at least 50 times as much
competition for jobs on Second Class Street as for jobs on First
Class Avenue. First Class Avenue, U.S.A., is a short, uncrowded
street. There are countless vacancies waiting there for people like
you who dare to think big.
The basic principles and concepts supporting The Magic of
Thinking Bigcome from the highest-pedigree sources, the very fm-
est and biggest-thinking minds yet to live on planet Earth. Minds
like the prophet David, who wrote, '1.s one thinketh in his heart,
so is he"; minds such as Emerson, who said, "Great men are those
who see that thoughts rule the world"; minds like Milton, who in
Paradise Lost wrote, "The mind is its own place and in itself can
make a heaven of hell or a hell of heaven." Amazingly perceptive
minds like Shakespeare, who observed, "There is nothing either
good or bad except that thinking makes it so."

10. 4 PREFACE
But where does the proof come from? How do we know
the master thinkers were right, Fair questions. The pl'Oof comes
from the lives of the select people al'Ound us who, thl'Ough win-
ning success, achievement, and happiness, pl'Ove that thinking
big does work magic.
The simple steps we have set down here are not untested
theories. They are not one man's guesses and opinions. They are
proven appl'Oaches to life's situations, and they are universally
applicable steps that work and work like magic.
That you're reading this page pl'Oves you are interested in
larger success. You want to fulfill your desires. You want to enjoy
a fine standard of living. You want this life to deliver to you all
the good things you deserve. Being interested in success is a
wonderful quality.
You have another admirable quality. The fact that you're
holding this book in your hands shows you have the intelligence
to look for tools that will help take you where you want to go.
In building anything-automobiles, bridges, missiles-we need
tools. Many people, in their attempt to build a successful life,
forget there are tools to help them. You have not forgotten. You
have, then, the two basic qualities needed to realize real profit
from this book: a desire for greater success and the intelligence
to select a tool to help you realize that desire.
Think Big and you'll live big. You'll live big in happiness.
You'll live big in accomplishment. Big·in income. Big in friends.
Big in respect.
Enough for the promise.
Start now, right now, to discover how to make your think-
ing make magic for you. Start out with this thought of the great
philosopher Disraeli: "Life is too short to be little."

11. WHAT THIS BOOK
WI LL DO FOR YOU
In every chapter of this book you will fmd dozens of hardheaded,
practical ideas, techniques, and principles that will'enable you to
harness the tremendous power of thinking big, so as to gain for
yourself the success, happiness, and satisfaction you want so much.
Every technique is dramatically illustrated by a real·life case history.
You discover not only what to do, but, what is even more important,
you see exactly how to apply each principle to actual situations and
problems. Here, then, is what this book will do for you; it will show
you how you can ...
Launch Yourself to Success with
the Power of Belief 9
Win Success by Believilig You Can
Succeed 19
Defeat Disbelief and the Negative
Power It Creates 12
Get Big Results by Believing Big
14
Make Your Mind Produce Positive
Thoughts 18
Develop the Power of Belief 20
Plan a Concrete Success·Building
Program 22
Vaccinate Yourself Against
EXCllsitis, the Failure Disease
29
Learn the Secret That Lies in Your
Attitude Toward Health 27
Take Four Positive Steps to Lick
.Health Excusitis 31

12. 6 WHATTHIS BOOK WILL DO FOR YOU
Discover Why Your Thiuking
Power Is More Important Than
Mere Intelligence 32
Use Your Mind for Thinking-Not
Simply as a Warehouse for Facts
37
Master TItree Easy Ways to Cure
Intelligence Excusitis 38
Overcome the Problem of Age-
BeiHg "Too Young,» or "Too
Old" 39
Conquer Luck Excusitis and Attract
Good Luck to You 45
Use the Action Technique to Cure
Fear and Build Confidence 50
Manage Your Memory so as to
Increase Your Store of Confi-
dence 55
.Overcome Your Fear of Other
People 61
Increase Selfconfidence by Satisfy-
ing Your Ovn Conscience 64
Think Confidelttly by Acting Confi-
delttly 68
. Learn the Five Positive Steps to
Build Confidence and Destroy
Fear 74
Discover That Success Is Measured
by the Size of Your Thinking
76
Measure Your True Size and Find
Out What Assets You Have
77
Think as Big as You Really Are
79
Develop the Big Thinker's Vocabu-
lary with These Four Specific
Steps 81
Think Big by Visualizing What
Can Be Done in the Future 82
Add Value to Things, to People,
and to Yourself 89
Get the "TIlinking Big" VieW of
YourJob 90
Think Above Trivialities and Con-
centrate on What's Important.
77
Test Yourself-Find Out How Big
Your Thinking ReallyIs
97
Use Creative Thinking to Find New
and Better Ways to Get Things
Done 100
Develop Creative Power by Believ-
ing It Can Be Done 105
Fight Mind-Freezing Tra4itioual
Thinking, 106
Do More and Do It Better by Turn-
ing on Your Creative Power
107

13. Use the Three Keys to Strengthen-
ing Creativity by Opening Your
Ears and Your Mind 118
Stretch Your Thinking a/1d Stimu-
late Your Mind 118
Harness and Develop Your
Ideas-the Fruit of Your Think-
ing 120
Look Important, Because It Helps
You Think Important 127
Become Important by Thinking
Your Work Is Important 132
Build Your Own "Sell-Yourselfto-
Yourself" Commercial 141
Upgrade Your Thinking-Think
Like Important People Think
144
Make Your Environment Work for
You 117
Prevent Small Peoplefrom Holding
You Back 151
Manage Your Work Environment
154
Get Plenty of Psychological Sun-
shine During Leisure Hours
157
Throw Thought Poison Out of
Your Environment 161
Go First Class in Everything
You Do 163
WHATTHIS BOOK WILL 00 FORYOU 7
Grow the Attitlldes That Will Help
You Win What You Want 168
Get Activated; Get Enthusiastic
168
Develop the Power of Real Enthusi-
asm 169
Grow the "You-Are-Important"
Attitude 177
Make More Money by Getting the
"Put-Service-First" Attitllde
186
Win the Support of Other People
by Thinking Right Toward
Them 192
Become More Likable by Making
Yourself "Lighterto LijI" 194
Take the Initiative in Building
Friendships 197
Master the Technique of TIlink-
ing Only Good Thoughts About
People 202
Win Friends by Practicing Conver-
sation Generosity 207
Think Big, Even Wheil You Lose or
Receive a Setback 209
Get the Action Habit-You Don't
Need to Wait Until Conditions
Are Perftct 212
Make Up Your Mind to Do Some-
thing About Your Ideas. 221

14. 8 WHATTHIS BOOK WILL DO FOR YOU
Use Action to Cure Fear and Gaia
Confidence 222
Discover the Secret of Mind Action
223
Capitalize on the Magic of NOW
226
Strengthen Yourself by Getting the
"Speak Up" Habit 228
Develop Initiative, a Special Kind
of Action 229
Discover That Deftat Is Nothiug
More Than a State of Mind
236
Salvage Somethingfrom Every Set-
back 237
Use the Force of Constructive Self-
criticism 243
Achieve Positive Results Through
Persistence and Experimenta-
tion 245
Whip Discouragemel1t by Finding
the Good Side to Every Situa-
tion 249
Get a Clear Fix on Where You
Want to Go in Life 252
Use This Plan to Build Your Tw-
Year Goal 255
Avoid the Five Success-Murdering
Weapons 259
Multiply Your EnClg)' by Setting
Definite Goals 260
Set Goals That Will Help You Get
Things Done and Live Longer
261
Accomplish Your Goals with This
30-Day Improvement Guide
268
Invest in Yourselffor Future Profit
270
Learn the Four Rules of Leader-
ship 275
Develop Your Power to Trade
Minds with the People You
Want to fllIluence 280
Put the "Be-Human" Approach to
Work for You 282
Think Progress, Believe in Progress,
Pushfor Progress 288
Test Yourself to Learn Whether
You Are a Progressive Thinker
293
Tap Your Supreme Thinking Power
295
Use the Magic of Thinking Big in
Lift's Most Crucial Situations
300

15. 1
BELIEVE YOU CAN SUCCEED AND YOU WILL
SIJCCESS 1'/iE/fJ~; 1Vl;NY WONOFff'UL, positive things. Success
means personal prosperity: a fine home, vacations, travel, new
things, fmandal security, giving your children maximum advan-
tages. Success means winning admiration, leadership, being
looked up to by people in your business and sodallife. Success
means freedom: freedom fium worries, fears, frustrations, and
failure. Success means self-respect, conrinually fmdirig more real
happiness and satisfaction from life, being able to do more for
those who depend on you.
Success means winning.
Success~achievement~is the goal of life!
Every human being wants success. Everybody wants the
. best this life can deliver. Nobody enjoys crawling, living in medi-
ocrity. No one likes feeling second-class and feeling forced to go
that way.
Some of the most practical suq:ess-building wisdom is found
in that biblical quotation stating that faith can move mountains.
Believe, really believe, you can move a mountain, an~ you
can. Not many people believe that they can move mountains. So,
as a result, not many people do.

16. 10 BElIEVE YOU CAli SUCCEED AIID YOU WILL
On some occasion you've probably heard someone say
something like "It's nonsense to think you can make a mountain
move away just by saying 'Mountain, move away.' It's simply
impossible."
People who think this way have belief confused with wish-
ful thinking. And true enough, you can't wish away a mountain.
You can't wish yourself into an executive suite. Nor can you
.wish yourself into a five-bedroom, three-bath house or the
high-income brackets. You can't wish yourself into a position of
leadership.
But you can move a mountain with belief. You can win suc-
cess by believing you can succeed.
There is nothing magical or mystical about the power of
belief.
Belief works this way. Belief, the 'Tm-positive-I-can" atti-
tude, generates the power, skill, and energy needed to do. When
you believe I-can-do-it, the how-to-do-it develops.
Every day all over the nation young people start working in
new jobs. Each of them "wishes" that someday he could enjoy
the success that goes with reaching the top. But the majority of
these young people simply don't have the belief that it takes to
reach the top rungs. And they don't reach the tOp. Believing it's
impossibl~ to climb high, they do not discover the steps that lead
to great heights. Theil' behavior remains that of the "average"
person.
But a small number of these youngpeople really believe they
will succeed. They approach their work with the 'Tm-going-to-
the-top" attitude. And with substantial belief they reach the top.
Believing they will succeed-and that it's not impossible-these
folks study and observe the behavior of senior executives. They

17. BELIEVE YOU CAli SUCCEED AND YOU Will 11
learn how successful people approach problems and make deci-
sions. They observe the attitudes of successful people.
The how-to-do-it always comes to the person who believes
. he can do it.
A young woman I'm acquainted with decided two years
ago that she was going to establish a sales agency to sell mobile
homes. She was advised by many that she shouldn't-and
couldn't-do it.
She had less than $3,000 in savings and was advised that the
minimum capital investment required was many times that.
"Lookhow competitive it is," she was advised. "And besides,
what practical experience have you had in selling mobile homes,
let alone managing a business?" her advisors asked.
But this young lady had belief in herself and her ability to
succeed. She quickly admitted that she lacked capital, that the
business was very competitive, and that she lacked experience. '
"But," she said, "all the evidence I can gather shows that the
mobile home industry is going to expand. On top of that, I've
studied my competition. IknowI can do abetterjob of merchan-
dising trailers than anybody else in this town. I expect to make
some mistakes, but I'm going to be on top in a hurry." ,
And she was. She had little trouble getting capital. Her
absolutely unquestioned belief that she could succeed with this
business won her the confidence of two investors. And armed
with complete belief, she did the "impossible"-she got a trailer
manufacturer to advance her a limited inventory with no money
down.
Last year she sold over $1,OOO,pOO worth of trailers.
"Next year," she says, "I expect to gross over $2,000,000."
Belief, strong belief, triggers the mind to figure ways and

18. 12 BELIEVE YOU CAlI SUCCEED AlID YOU WILL
means and how-to. And believing you can succeed makes others
place confidence in you.
Most people do not put much stock in belief. But some, the
residents of Successfulville, U.S.A., do! Just a few weeks ago a
friend who is an oftlcial with a state highway department in a mid-
western state related a "mountain-moving" experience to me.
"Last month," my friend began, "our department sent
notices to a number of engineering companies that we were
authorized to retain some firm to design eight bridges as part of
our highway-building program. The bridges were to be built at a
cost of $5,000,000. The engineering firm selected would get a 4
percent commission, o'r $200,000, for its design work.
"I talked with twenty-one engineering firms about this.
The four largest decided right away to submit proposals. The
other seventeen companies were small, having ,only three to
seven engineers each. The size of the project scared off sixteen
of these seventeen, They went over the project, shook their
heads, and said, in effect, 'It's too big for us. I wish I thought we
could handle it, but it's no use even trying:
"But one of these small firms, a company with only three
engineers, studied the plans and said, 'We can do it. We'll submit
a proposal.' They did, and they got the job,"
Those who believe they can move' mountains, do, Those
who believe'they can't, cannot, Belief triggers the powe'r to do.
Actually, in these modern tim~s belief is doing much bigger
things than moving mountains. The most essential element-in
fact, the essential element-in our space explorations today is
belief that space can be mastered, Without firm, unwavering
belief that man can travel in space, our scientists would not
have the courage, interest, and enthusiasm to proceed. Belief

19. BElIEVE YOU CAli SUCCEED ArID YOU Will 13
that cancer can be cured will ultimately produce cures for can- .
eel'. Currently, there is some talk of building a tunnel under
the English Channel to connect England with the Continent.
Whether this tunnel is ever built depends on whether responsible
people believe it can be built.
Belief in great results is the driving force, the power behind
all great books, plays, scientific discoveries. Belief in success is
behind every successful business, church, and political organiza-
tion. Belief in success is the one basic, absolutely essential ingre-
dient of successful people.
Believe, really believe, you can succeed, and you will.
Over the years I've talked with many people who have
failed in business ventures and in various careers. I've heard a lot
of reasons and excuses for failure. Something especially signifi-
cant unfolds as conversations with failures develop. In a casual
sort of way the failure drops a remark like "To tell the truth,
I didn't think it would work" or "I had my misgivings before I
even started out" or '1ctually, I wasn't too surprised that it didn't
work out."
The "Okay-I'll-give-it-a-try-but-I-don't-think-it-will-work"
attitude produces failures.
Disbelief is negative power. When the mind disbelieves
or doubts, the mind attracts "reasons" to support the disbelief.
Doubt, disbelief, the subconsciolls will to fail, the not really wanting
to succeed, is responsible for most failures.
Think doubt and fail.
Think victory and succeed.
A young fiction writer talked with me recently about her
writing ambitions. The name of one of the top writers in her
field came up.

20. 14 BELIEVE YOU CAN SUCCEED ArID YOU Will
"Gh," she said, "Mr. X is a wonderful writer, but of course,
I can't be nearly as successful as he is."
Her attitude disappointed me very much because I know
the writer mentioned. He is not sllperintelligent nor super-
perceptive, nor super-anything else except superconfident. He
believes he is among the best, and so he acts and performs the
best.
It is well to respect the leader. Learn from him. Observe
him. Study him. But don't worship him. Believe you can surpass.
Believe you can go beyond. Those who harbor the second-best
attitude are invariably second-best doers.
Look at it this way. Belief is the thermostat that regulates
what we accomplish in life. Study the fellow who is shuffling
down there in mediocrity. He believes he is worth little, so he
receives little. He believes he can't do big things, and he doesn't.
He believes he is unimponant, so everything he does has an
unimportant mark. As times goes by, lack of belief in himself
shows through in the way the fellow talks, walks, acts. Unless he
readjusts his thermostat forward, he shrinks, grows smaller and
smaller, in his own estimation. And, since others see in us what
we see in ourselves, he grows smaller in the estimation of the
.people around him.
Now look across the way at the person who is advancing
forward. He believes he is wonh much, and he receives much.
He believes he can handle big, difficult assiguments-and he
does. Everything he does, the way he handles himself with
people, his character, his thoughts, his viewpoints, all say, "Here
is a professional. He is an important person."
A. person is a product of his own thoughts. Believe Big.
Adjust your thermostat forward. Launch your success offensive

21. BELIEVE YOU CAN SUCCEED AND YOU Will 15
with honest, sincere belief that you can succeed. Believe big and
grow big.
Several years ago after addressing a group of businessmen
in Detroit, I talked with one of the gentlemen who approached
me, introduced himself, and said, "I really enjoyed your talk. Can
you spare a few minutes? I'd like very much to discuss a personal
experience with you."
In a few minutes we were comfortably seated in a coffee
shop, waiting for some refreshment~.
"I have a personal experience," he began, "that ties in per-
fectly with what you said this evening abput making your mind
work for you instead of letting it work agai~st you. I've never
explained to anyone how I lifted myself out of the world of
mediocrity, but I'd like to tell you about it."
''And I'd like to heal' it," I said.
"Well, just five years ago I was plodding along, just another
guy working in the tool-and-die trade. I made a decent living
by average standards. But it was far from ideal. Our home was
much too small, aid there was no money for those many things
we wanted. My wife, bless her, didn't complain much, but it was
written all over her that she was more resigned to her fate than
she was happy. Inside I grew more and more dissatisfied. When I
let myself see how I was failing my good wife and two children,
I really hurt inside.
"But today things are really different," my friend continued.
"Today we have a beautiful new home on a two-acre lot and a
year-round cabin a couple hundred miles north of here. There's
no more worry about whether we can send the kids to a good
college, and my wife no longer has to feel guilty every time she
spends money for some new clothes. Next summer the whole

22. 16 BElIEVE YOU CArl SUCCEED AriD YOU WILL
family is flying to Europe to spend a month's holiday. We're
really living."
"How did this all happen)" I asked.
"It all happened,"- he continued, "when, to use the phrase
you used tonight, 'I harnessed the power of belief: Five years ago
Ilearned about a job with a tool·and·die company here in Detroit.
We were living in Cleveland at the time. I decided to look into
it, hoping I could make aJittle more money. I got here early on
Sunday evening, but the interview was not until Monday.
'Mer dinner I sat down' in my hotel room, and for some
reason, I got really disgusted with myself. 'Why,' I asked myself,
'am Ijust a middle·class failure? Why am I trying to get ajob that
represe.nts such a small step forward?'
"I don't know to this day what prompted n:e to do it, but
I took a sheet of hotel stationery and wrote down the names
of five people I've known well for several years who had far
surpassed me in earning power and job responsibility. Two were
former neighbo'rs who had moved away to fme -subdivisions.
Two others were fellows I had worked for, and the third was a
brother·in·law.
"Next-again I don't know what made me do this-I asked
myself, what do my five friends have that I don't have, besides
better jobs? I compared myself with them on inteiligence, but I
honestly couldn't see that they excelled in the brains department.
Nor could I truthfully say they had me beat on education, integ·
rity, or personal habits.
"Finally, I got down to another success quality one hears a
lot about: initiative. Here I hated to admit it, but I had to. On this
point my record showed I waS far below that of my successful
friends.

23. BELIEVE YOU CAN SUCCEED AND YOU WILL 17
"It was now about 3 A.M., but my mind was astonishingly
clear. I was seeing my weak point for the first time. I discovered
that I had held back. I had always carried a little stick. I dug into
myself deeper and deeper and found the reason I lacked initiative
was because I didn't believe inside that I was worth very much.
"I sat there the rest of the night just reviewing how lack of
faith in myself had dominated me ever since I could remember,
how'! had used my mind to work against myself. I found I had
been preaching to myself why I couldn't get ahead instead of
why I could. I had been selling myself short. I found this streak
of self-depreciation showed through in everything I did. Then it
dawned on me that no one else was going to believe in me until
I believed in myself.
"Right then I decided, 'I'm through feeling second-class.
From here on in I'm not going to sell myself short.'
"Next morning I still had that confidence. During the job
interview I gave my newfound confidence its fll'st test. Before
coming for the interview I'd hoped I would have courage to ask
for $750 or maybe even $1,000 more than my present job was
paying. But now, after realizing I was a valuable man, I upped it
to $3,500. And I got it. I sold myself because after that one long
night of self-analysis I found things in myself that made me a lot
more salable.
"Within two years after I took that job I had established a
reputation as the fellow who can get business. Then we went into
a recession. This made me still more valuable because I was one
of the best business-getters in the industry. The company was
reorganized and I was given a substantial amount of stock plus
a lot more pay."
Believe in yourself, and good things do start happening.

24. 1B BELIEVE YOU CArl SUCCEED ArlO YOU Will
*
Your mind is a "thought factory." It's a busy fa.ctory, producing
countless thoughts in one day.
Production in your thought factory is under the charge of
two foremen, one of whom we will call Mr. Triumph and the
other Mr. Defeat. Mr. Triumph is in charge of manufacturing
positive thoughts. He specializes in producing reasons why you
can, why you're qualified, why you will.
The other foreman, Mr. Defeat, produces negative, depre-
cating thoughts. He is your expert in developing reasons why you
can't, why you're weak, why you're inadequate. His specialty is
the "why-you-will-fail" chain of thoughts.
Both Mr. Triumph and Mr. Defeat are intensely obedient.
They snap to attention immediately. All you need do to signal
either foreman is to give the slightest mental beck and call. If the
signal is positive, Mr. Triumph will step forward and go to work.
Likewise, a negative signal brings Mr. Defeat forward.
To see how these two foremen work for you, try this exam-
ple. Tell yourself, "Today is a lousy day." This signals Mr. Defeat
into action, and he manufactures some facts to prove you are
right. He suggests to you that it's too hot or it's too cold, business
will be bad today, sales will drop, other people will be on edge,
you may get sick, your wife will be in a fussy mood. Mr. Defeat is
tremendously efficient. In just a few moments he's got you sold.
It is a bad day. Before you know it, it is a heck of a bad day.
But tell yourself, "Today is a fme day," and Mr. Triumph is
signaled forward to act. He tells you, "This is a wOl1deifill day. The
weather is refieshing. It's good to be alive. Today you can catch
up on some of your work." And then it is a good day.
In llke fashion Mr. Defeat can show you why you can't sell

25. BElIEVE YOU CAN SUCCEED AND YOU WILL 19
Mr. Smith; Mr. Triumph will show you that you can. Mr. Defeat
will convince you that you will fail, while Mr. Triumph will dem-
onstrate why you will succeed. Mr. Defeat will prepare a brilliant
case against Tom, while Mr. Triumph will show you more rea-
sons why you like Tom.
Now; the more work you give either of these two foremen,
the stronger he becomes. If Mr. Defeat is given more work to
do, he adds personnel and takes up more space in your mind.
Eventually, he will take over the entire thought-manufacturiug
division, and virtually all thought will be of a negative nature.
The only wise thing to do is fire Mr. Defeat. You don't
need him. You don't want him around telling you that you can't,
you're not up to it, you'll fail, and so on. Mr. Defeat won't help.
you get where you want to go, so boot him out.
Use Mr. Triumph 100 percent of the time. When any
thought enters your mind, ask Mr. Triumph to go to work for
you. He'll show you how you can succeed.
Between now and tomorrow at this time another 11,500
new consumers will have made their grand eptry into the U.S.A.
Population is growing at a record rate. In the next ten years
the increase is conservatively estimated at 35 million. That's
equal to the present combined metropolitan population of our·
five biggest cities: NewYork, Chicago, Los Angeles, Detroit, and
Philadelphia. Imagine!
New industries, new scientific breakthroughs, expanding
markets-all spell opportunity. This is good news. This is a most
wonderful time to be alive!
All signs point to a record demand for top-level people in
every field-people who have superior ability to influence oth-
ers, to direct their work, to serve them in a leadership capacity.

26. 20 BELIEVE YOU GAil SUCCEED Aim YOU WILL
And the people who will fill these leadership positions ar~ all
adults or near adults right now. One of them is you.
The guarantee of a boom is not, of course, a guarantee of
personal success. Over the long pull, the United States has always
been booming. Butjust a fast glance shows that millions and mil-
lions of people-in fact, a majority of them-struggle but don't
really succeed. The majority of folks still plug along in medioc-
rity despite the record opportunity of the last two decades. And
in the boom period ahead, most people will continue to worry,
to be afraid, to crawl through life feeling unimportant, unap-
preciated, not able to do what they want to do. As a result, their
performance will earn them petty rewards, petty happiness.
Those who convert opportunity into reward (and let me
say, I sincerely believe you are one of those, else you'd rely on
luck and not bother with this book) will be those wise people
who learn how to think themselves to success.
Walkin. The door to success is open wider than ever before.
Put yourself on record now that you are going to join that select
group that is getting what it wants from life.
Here is the first step toward success. It's a basic step. It
can'tbe avoided. Step One: Believe in yourself, believe you can
succeed.
HOW TO DEVELOP THE POWER OF BELIEF
Here are the three guides to acquiring and strengthening the
power of belief:
1. Think success, don't think failure. At work, in your home,
substitute success thinking for failure thinking. When you
face a difHcult situation, think, ''I'll win," not 'Til probably

27. BEliEVEYOU CAN SUCCEED Arm YOU WILL 21
lose." When you compete with someone else, think, "I'm
equal to the best," not "I'm outclassed." When opportunity
appears, think "1 can do it," never "1 can't." Let the master
thought "1 will succeed" dominate your thinking process.
Thinking success conditions your mind to create plans that
produce success. Thinking failure does the e)Cact opposite.
Failure thinking conditions the mind to think other thoughts
that produce failure.
2. Remind yourself regularly that you are better than you think
you are. Successful people are not supermen. Success does
not require a superintellect. Nor is there anything mystical
about success. And success isn't based on luck. Successful
people are just ordinary folks who have developed belief
in themselves and what they do. Never-yes, never-sell
yourself short.
3. Believe Big. The size of your success is determined by the
size ofyourbelief. Thinklittfe goals and e)Cpectlitde achieve-
ments. Think big goals and win big success. Remember
this, too! Big ideas and big plans are often easiel~certainly
no more difficult-than small ideas and small plans.
Mr. Ralph J. Cordiner, chairman of the board of the
General Electric Company, said this to a leadership conference:
"We need from every man who aspires to leadership-for him-
self and his company-a determination to undertake a personal
program of self-development. Nobody is going to order a man
to develop.... Whether a man lags behind or moves ahead in
his specialty is a matter of his own personal application. This is

28. 22 BELIEVE YOU CAli SUCCEEO ANO YOU WILL
something which takes time, work, and sacrifice. Nobody can do
it for you."
Mr. COl'diner's advice is sound and practical. Live it. Persons
who reach the top rungs in business management, selling, engi-
neering, religious work, writing, acting, and in every other pur-
suit get there by following conscientiously and continuously a
planfor selfdevelopment and growth.
Any training program-and that's exactly what this book
, is-must do three things. It must provide content, the what-to-
do. Second, it must supply a method, the how-to-do-it. And third,
it must meet the acid test; that is, get results.
The what of your personal training program for success is
built on the attitudes and techniques of successful people. How
do they manage themselves? How d? they overcome obsta~les?
How do they earn the respect of others? What sets them apart
fi'om the ordinary? How do they think?
The how. of your plan for development and growth is a
series of concrete guides for action. These are found in each
chapter. These guides work. Apply them and see for yourself.
What about the most important part of training: results?
Wrapped up briefly, conscientious application of the program
presented here will bring you success and on a scale that may
now look impossible. Broken down into its components, your
personal training program for success will bring you a series
of rewards: the reward of deeper respect from your family,
the reward of admiration from your fi'iends and assoCiates, the
reward of feeling useful, of being someone, of having status, the
reward of increased income and a higher standard of living.
Your training is self-administered. There will be no one
standing over your shoulder telling you what to do and how to

29. BElIEVE YOU CAN SUCCEED AtlDYOU Will 23
do it. This book will be your guide, bur only you can understand
yourself. Only you can command yourself to apply this training.
Only you can evaluate your progress. Only you can bring about
corrective action should you slip a little. In short, you are going
to train yourself to achieve bigger and bigger success.
You already have a fully equipped laboratory in which you
can work and study. Your laboratory is' all around you. Your labo-
ratory consists of human beings. This laboratory supplies you
with every possible example of human action. And there is no
limit to what you can learn once you see yourself as a scientist
in your own lab. What's more, there is nothing to buy. There is
no rent to pay. There are no fees of any kind. You can use this
laboratory as much as you like for free.
As director of your own laboratory. you will want ro do
what every scientist does: observe and experiment.
Isn't it surprising to you that most people understand so
little about why people act as they do even though they are sur-
rounded by people all their lives? Most peopfe are not trained
observers. One important purpose of this book is to help you
train yourself to observe, to develop deep insight into human
action. You'll want to ask yourself questions like 'Why isJohn so
successful and Tom just getting by?" "Why do some people have
many friends and other people have only few friends?" "Why
will people gladly accept what one person tells them but ignore
another person who tells them the same thing?"
Once trained, you will learn valuable lessons just through
the very simple process of observing..
Here are two special suggestions to help you make yourself
a trained observer. Select for special study the most successful
and the most unsuccessful person you know; Then, as the book

30. 24 BELIEVE YOU CArl SUCCEED ArlO YOU WILL
unfolds, observe how closely your successful friend adheres
to the success principles. Notice also how studying the two
extremes will help you see the unmistakable wisdom of follow-
ing the truths outlined in this book.
Each contact you make with another person gives you
a chance to see success development principles at work. Your
objective is to make successful action habitUal. The more we
practice, the.sooner it becomes second nature to act in the
desired way.
Most of us have fi:iends who grow things for a hobby. And
we've all heard them say something like "It's exciting to watch
those plants grow; Just look how they respond to plant food and
water. See how much bigger they are today than they were last
week."
To be sure, it is thrilling to watch what can happen when
men cooperate carefully with nature. But it is not one-tenth as
fascinating as watching yourself respond to your own carefully
administered thought management program. It's fun to feel
yourself growing more confident, more effective, more success-
ful day by day, month by month. Nothing-absolutely noth-
ing-in this life gives you more satisfaction than kllowing you're
on the road to success and achievement. And nothing stands as a
bigger challenge than making the most of yourself,

31. 2
GURE YOURSELF OF EXGUSITIS,
THE FAILURE DISEASE
PEOPLE--AS YOU THINK YOURSELF to success, that's what you
will study, people. You will study people very caref?lly to dis-
covel; then apply, success-rewarding principles to your life. And
you Want to begin right away.
Go deep into your study of people, and you'll discover unsuc-
cessful people suffer a mind-deadening thought disease. We call
this disease excusitis. Every failure has this disease in its advanced
form. And most "average" persons have at least a mild case of it.
You will discover that excusitis explains the difference
between the person who is going places and the fellow who is
barely holding his own. You will fuid that the more successful the
individual, the less inclined he is to make excuses.
But the fellow who has gone nowhere and has no plans for
getting anywhere always has a bookful of reasons to explain why.
Persons with mediocre accomplishments are qUick to explain why
they haven't, why they don't, why they can't, and why they aren't.
Study the lives of successful people and you'll discover this:
all the excuses made by the mediocre fellow could be but aren't
made by the successful person.

32. 26 CUREVOURSELF OF EXCUSITIS,THE FAILURE DISEASE
I have never met nor heard of a highly successful business
executive, military officer, salesman, professional person, orleader
in any field who could not have found one or more major excuses
to hide behind. Roosevelt could have hidden behind his lifeless
legs; Truman could have used "no college education"; Kennedy
could have said, "I'm too young to be president"; Johnson and
Eisenhower could have ducked behind heart attacks.
Like any disease, excusitis gets worse if it isn't treated prop-
erly. A victim of this thought disease goes through this mental
process: "I'm not doing as well as I should. What can I use as an
alibi that will help me save face? Let's see: poor health? lack of
education? too old) too young? bad luck) personal misfortune?
wife? the way my family brought me up)"
Once the victim of this failure disease has'selected a "good"
excuse, he sticks with it. Then he relies on the excuse to explain
to himself and others why he is not going forward.
And each time the victim makes the excuse, the excuse
becomes imbedded deeperwithin his subconsciousness. Thoughts,
positive or negative, grow stronger when fertilized with constant
repetition. At first the victim of excusitis knows his alibi is more
or less a lie. But the more frequently he repeats it, the more con-
vinced he becomes that it is completely true, that the alibi is the
real reason for his not being the success he should be.
Procedure One, then, in your individual program of think-
ing yourself to success, must be to vaccinate yourself against
eXCJlsitis, the disease of thefailures.
THE FOUR MOST COMMON FORMS OF EXCUSITIS
Excusitis appears in a wide variery of forms, but the worst types
of this disease are health excusitis, intelligence excusitis, age

33. CUREYOURSELF OF EXCUSITIS,THE FAILURE DISEASE 27
excusitis, and luck excusitis. Now let's see just how we can pro-
tect ourselves from these four common ailments.
1. "But My Health Isn't Good."
Health excusitis ranges all the way from the chronic "1 don't feel
good" to the more specific "I've got such-and-such wrong with
me."
"Bad" health, in a thousand different forms, is used as an
excuse for failing to do what a person wants to do, failing to
accept greater responsibilities, failing to make more money, fail-
ing to achieve success.
Millions and millions of people suffer from health excusitis.
But is it, in most cases, a legitimate excuse? Think for a moment
of all the highiy successful people you know who could-but
who don't-use health as an excuse.
My physician and sutgeon friends tell me the perfect speci-
men of adult life is nonexistent. There is something physically
wrong with everybody. Many surrender in whole or in .part to
health excusitis, but success-thinking people do not.
.
1vo experiences happened to me in one afternoon that
illustrate the correct and incorrect attitudes toward health. 1had
just finished a talk in Cleveland. Afterwards, ohe fellow; about
thirty, asked to speak to me privately for a few minutes. He com-
plimented me on the meeting but then said, 'Tm afraid your
ideas can't do me much good."
"You see,'· he continued, "I've got a bad heart, and I've got
to hold myself in check." He went on to explain that he'd seen
four doctors but they couldn't fmd his trouble. He asked me
what 1would suggest he do.
"Well,'· 1said, "1 know nothing about the heart, but as one

34. 28 GUREVOURSELF OF EXGUSITIS,THE FAILURE DISEASE.
layman to another, here are three things I'd do. First, I'd visit the
finest heart specialist I could find and accept his diagnosis as final.
You've already checked with four doctors, and none of them has
found anything peculiar with your heart. Let the fifth doctor be
your final check. It may very well be you've got a perfectly sound
heart. But if you keep on worrying about it, eventually you may
have a very serious heart ailment. Looking and looking and look-
ing for an illness often actually produces illness.
"The second thing I'd recommend is that you read Dr.
Schindler's great book, How to Live 365 Days a Year. Dr. Schindler
shows in this book that three out of every four hospital beds are
occupied by people who-have Ell-Emotionally Induced Illness.
Imagine, three out of four people who are sick right now would
be well if they had learned how to handle their emotions. Read
Dr. Schindler's book and develop your program for 'emotions
management:
"Third, I'd resolve to live until I die." I went on to explain to
this troubled fellow some sound advice I received many years ago
from a lawyer friend who had an arrested case of tuberculosis.
This friend knewhe would have to live a regulated life but this
hasn't stopped him from practicing la'I, rearing a fme family, and
really enjoying life. My friend, who now is seventy-eight years
old, expresses his philosophy in these words: ''j'm going to live
until I die and I'm not going to get life and death confused. While
I'm on this earth I'm going to live. Why be only half alive? Every
minute a person spends worrying about dying is just one minute
that fellow might as well have been dead."
I had to leave at that point, because I had to be on a certain
plane for Detroit. On the plane the ~econd but much more pleas-

35. GUREYOURSELF OF EXGUSITlS,THE FAILURE DISEASE 29
ant experience occurred. After the noise of the takeoff, I heard
a ticking sound. Rather startled, I glanced at the fellow sitting
beside me, for the sound seemed to be coming fi'om him.
He smiled a big smile and said, "Oh, it's not a bomb. It's
just my heart."
I was obviously surprised, so he proceeded to tell me what
had happened.
Just twenty-one days before, he had undergone an opera-
tion tllat involved putting a plastic valve into his heart. The
ticking sound, he explained, would continue for several months,
until new tissue had grown over the artificial valve. I asked him
what he was going to do.
"Oh," he said, ''I've got big plans. I'm going to study law
when I get back to Minnesota. Someday I hope to be in govern-
ment work. The doctors tell me I must. take it easy for a few
months, but after that I'll be like new."
There you have two ways of meeting health problems. The
first fellow, not even sure he had anything organically wrong
with him, was worried, depressed, on the road to defeat, want-
ing somebody to second his motion that he couldn't go forward.
The second individual, after undergoing one of the most difficult
of operations, was optimistic, eager to do something. The differ-
ence lay in how they thought toward health!
I've had some very direct experience with health excusitis.
I'm a diabetic. Right after I discovered I had this ailment (about
5,000 hypodermics ago), I was warned, "Diabetes is a physical
condition; but the biggest damage results from having a nega-
tive attitude toward it. Worry about it, and you may have real
trouble."

36. 30 CURE YOURSELf Of EXcUSITIS,THE fAILURE DISEASE
Naturally, since the discovery of my own diabetes, I've got-
ten to know a great many other diabetics. Let me tell you about
two extremes. One fellow who has a very mild case belongs to
that fraternity of the living dead. Obsessed with a fear of the
weather, he is usually ridiculously bundled up. He's afi'aid of
infection, so he shuns anybody who has the slightest sniffle. He's
afraid of overexertion, so he does almost nothing. He spends
most of his mental energy worrying about what might happen.
He bores other people telling them "how awful" his problem
really is. His real ailment is not diabetes. Rather, he's a victim of
health excusitis. He has pitied himself into being an invalid.
The other extreme is a division manager for a large publish-
ing company. He has a severe case; he takes about thirty times as
much insulin as the fellow mentioned above. But he is not living
to be sick. He is living to enjoy his work and have fun. One day
he said to me, "Sure it is an inconvenience, but so is shaving. But
I'm Hot going to think myself to bed. When I take those shots, I
just praise the guys who discovered insulin."
A good fi'iend of mine, a widely known college educator,
came home fi'om Europe in 1945 minus one arm. Despite his
handicap, John is always smiling, always helping others. He's
about as optimistic as anyone I know. One day he and I had a long
talk about his handicap.
"It's just an arm," he said, "Sure, two are better than one.
But they just cut off my arm. My spirit is one hundred percent
intact. I'm really grateful for that."
Another amputee friend is an excellent golfer. One day I
asked him how he had been able to develop such a near-perfect
style with just one arm. I mentioned that most golfers with two
anns can't do nearly as well. His reply says a lot. "Well, it's my

37. CURE YOURSELF OF EXcUSITIS,THE FAILURE DISEASE 31
experience," he said, "that the right attitude and one arm will
beat the wrong attitude and two arms every time." The right
attitude and one arm will beat the wrong attitllde and two arms every
time. Think about that for a while. It holds true not only on the
golf course but in every facet of life.
Four Things You Can Do to Licl( Health Excusitis
The best vaccine against health excusitis consists of these four
doses:
1. Refuse to talk about your health. The more you talk about
an ailment, even the common cold, the worse it seems to
get. Talking about bad health is like putting fertilizer on
weeds. Besides, talking about your health is a bad habit.
It bores people. It makes one appear self-centered and
old-maidish. Success-minded people defeat the natural
tendency to talk about their "bad" health. One may (and
,
let me emphasize the word may) get a little sympathy, but
one doesn't get respect and loyalty by being a chronic
complainer.
·2. Refuse to worry about your health. Dr. Walter Alvarez,
emeritus consultant to the world-famous Mayo Clinic,
wrote recehtly, "I always beg worriers to exercise some self-
control. For instance, when I saw this man (a fellow who
was convinced he had a diseased gallbladder although eight
separate X-ray examinations showed that the organ was
perfectly normal), I begged him to quit getting his gallblad-
der X-rayed. I have begged hundreds of heart-conscious
men to quit getting electrocardiogra,ms made."

38. 32 CUREYOURSELF OF EXCUSITlS,THE FAILURE DISEASE
3. Be genuinely grateful that your health is as good as it is.
There's an old saying worth repeating often: "1 felt sorry for
myself because 1had ragged shoes until 1met a man who had
no feet." Instead of complaining about "not feeling good,"
it's far better to be glad you are as healthy as you are. Just
beinggratefulfor the healthyou have is powerful vaccination
against developing new aches and pains and real illness.
4. Remind yourself often, "It's better to wear out than rust
out." Life is yours to enjoy. Don't waste it. Don't pass up
living by thinking yourself into a hospital bed.
2. "But You've Got to Have Brains to Succeed."
Intelligence excusitis, or "1 lack brains," is common. In fact, it's
so common that perhaps as many as 95 percent of the people
around us have it in varying degrees. Unlike most other types of
excusitis, people suffering from this particular type of the malady
suffer in silence. Not many people will admit openly that they
think they lack adequate intelligence. Rather, they feel it deep
down inside.
Most of us make two basic errors with respect to intelligence:
1. We underestimate our own brainpower.
2. We overestimate the othei' fellow's brainpower,
Because of these errors many people sell themselves short.
They fail to tackle challengingsituations because it "takes a brain."
But along comes the fellow who isn't concerned about intelli-
gence, and he gets the job.

39. CURE YOURSELF OF EXcUSITlS,THE FAILURE DISEASE 33
What really matters is not how much intelligence you have
but how you use what you do have. The thinking that guides
your intelligence is much more important than the quantity of
your brainpower. Let me repeat, for this is vitally important: the
thinking that guides your intelligence is much more important than
how much intellige11ce you may have.
In answering the question, "Should your child be a sci-
entist?" Dr. Edward Teller, one of the nation's foremost physi-
cists, said, ''A child does not need·a lightning-fast mind to be
a ·scientist, nor does he need a miraculous memory, nor is it
necessary that he get very high grades in school. The only point
that counts is that the child have a high degree of interest in
science."
Interest, enthusiasm, is the critical factor even in science!
With a positive, optimistic, and cooperative attitude a per-
son with an IQ of 100 will earn more money, win more respect,
and achieve more success than a negative, pessimistic, uncoop-
erative individual with an IQ of 120.
Just enough sense to stick with something-a chore, task,
project-until it's completed pays off m,!ch better than idle intel-
ligence, even if idle intelligence be of genius caliber.
For stickability is 95 percent of ability.
At a homecoming celebration last year I met a college
friend whom I had not seen for ten years. Chuck was a very
bright student and was graduated with honors. His goal when I
last saw him was to own his own business in western Nebraska.
I asked Chuck what kind of business he fmally established.
'Well," he confessed, "I didn't go into business for myself. I
wouldn't have said this to anyone five years ago or even one year
ago, but now I'm ready to talk about it.
I

40. 34 GUREYOURSELF OF EXGUSITIS,THE FAILURE DISEASE
"As I look back at my college education now, I see that
I became an expert in why a business idea won't work out. I
learned every conceivable pitfall, every reason why a small busi-
ness will fail: 'You've got to have ample capital;' 'Be sure the
business cycle is right;' 'Is there a big demand for what you will
offer?' 'Is local industry stabillzed?'-a thousand and one things
to check out.
"The thing that hurts most is that several of myoId high
school friends who never seemed to have much on the ball and
didn't even go to college now are very well established in their
own businesses. But me, I'm just plodding along, auditing freight
shipments. Had I been drilled a little more in why a small busi-
ness can succeed, I'd be better off in every way today."
The thinking that guided Chuck's intelligence was a lot
more important than the amount of Chuck's intelligence.
Why som~ brilliantpeople are failures. I've been close for many
years to a person who qualifies as a genius, has high abstract
intelligence, and is Phi Beta Kappa. Despite this very high native
intelligence, he is one of the most unsuccessful people I know.
'He has a very mediocre job (he's ali'aid of responsibility). He
has never married (lots of marriages end in divorce). He has few
friends (people bore him). He's never invested in property of any
kind (he might lose his money). This man uses his great brain-
power to prove why things won't work rather than directing his
mental power to searching for ways to succeed.
Because of the negative thinking that guides his great res-
ervoir of brains, this fellow contributes little and creates nothing.
With a changed attitude, he could do great things indeed. He
has the brains to be a tremendous success, but not the thought
power.

41. CURE YOURSELF OF EXCUSITIS,THE FAILURE DISEASE 35
Another person I know well was inducted into' the Army
shortly after earning the ph.D. degree from a leading New York
university. How did he spend his three years in the Army? Not
as an officer. Not as a staff specialist. Instead, for three years he
drove a truck. Why? Because he was fIlled with negative attitudes
toward fellow soldiers ("I'm superior to them"), toward army
methods and procedures ("They are stupid"), toward discipline
("It's for others, not me"), toward everything, including himself
("I'm a fool for not figuring out a way to escape this rap").
This fellow earned no respect fi'om anyone. All his vast store
of knowledge lay buried. His negative attitudes turned him into a
flunky.
Remember, the thinking that guides your intelligence is
much more important than how much intelligence you have. Not
even a Ph.D. degree can override this basic success principle!
Several years ago I became a close friend of Phil E, one of
the senior officers of a major advertising agency. Phil was direc-
tor of marketing research for the agency, and he was doing a
bang-up job.
Was Phil a 'brain"? Far from it. phil knew next to nothing
about research technique. He knew next to nothing about statis-
tics. He was not a college graduate (though all the people work-
ing for him were). And Phil did not pretmd to know the technical
side of research. What, then, enabled Phil to command $30,000 a
year while not one of his subordinates earned $10,000?
This: phil was a "human" engineer. Phil was 100 percent
positive. Phil could inspire others when they felt low; phil was
enthusiastie. He generated enthusiasm; phil understood people,
and, because he could really see what made them tick, he liked
them.

42. 36 GUREYOURSELF OF EXGUSITlS,THE FAILURE DISEASE
Not Phil's brains, but how he managed those brains, made
him three times more valuable to his company than men who
rated higher on the IQ scale.
Out of every 100 persons who enroll in college, fewer than
50 will graduate. I was curious about this so I asked a director of
admissions at a large university for his explanation.
"It's not insufficient intelligence," he said. "We don't admit
them if they don't have sufficient ability. And it's not money.
Anyone who wants to support himself in college today can do
so. The real reason is attitudes. You would be surprised," he said,
"how many young people leave because they don't like their pro-
fessors, the subjects they must take, and their fellow students."
The same reason, negative thinking, explains why the
door to top-flight executive positions is closed to many young
junior executives. Sour, negative, pessimistic, depreciating atti-
tudes rather than insufficient intelligence hold back thousands
of young executives. As one executive told me, "It's a rare case
when we pass up a young fellow because he lacks brains. Nearly
always it's attitude."
. Once I was retained by an insurance company to learn why
the top 25 percent of the agents were selling over 75 percent of
the insurance while the bottom 25 percent of the agents sold
only 5 percent of total volume.
Thousands of personnel files were carefully checked. The
search proved beyond any question that no significant differ-
ence existed in native intelligence. What's more, differences in
education did·not explain the difference in selling success. The
difference in the very successful and the very unsuccessful fmally
reduced to differences in attitudes, or difference in thought man-

43. CURE YOURSELF OF EXcUSITIS,THE FAILURE DISEASE 37
agement. The top group worried less, was more enthusiastic,
had a sincere liking for people.
We can't do much to change the amount of native ability,
but we can certainly change the way we use what we have.
Knowledge is power-when you use it constructively. Closely allled
to intelligence excusi~is is some incorrect thinking about knowl-
edge. We often hear that knowledge is power. But this statement is
only a half-truth. Knowledge is only potential power. Knowledge
is power only when put to use-and then only when the use made
ofit is constructive.
The story is told that the great scientist Einstein was once
asked how many feet are in a mile. Einstein's reply was "I don't
know; Why should I fill my brain with facts I can fmd in two
minutes in any standard reference book?"
Einstein taught us a big lesson. He felt it was more important
to use your mind to think than to use it as a warehouse for facts.
One time Henry Ford was involved in a libel suit with the
Chicago Tribune. The Tribune had called Ford an ignoramus, and
Ford said, in effect, "Prove it."
The Tribune asked him scores of simple questions such as
"Who was BenedictArnold?" "Whenwas the Revolutionary War
fought?" and others, most of which Ford, who had little formal
education, could not answer.
Finally he became quite exasperated and said, "I don't know
. the answers to those questions, but I could find a man in five
minutes who does."
Henry Ford w~s never interested in miscellaneous informa-
tion. He knew what every major executive knows: that the ability

44. 38 CUREYOURSELF OF EXCUSITlS,THE FAILURE DISEASE
to know how to get information is more important than using
the mind as a garage for facts.
How much is a fact man worth? I spent a very interesting evening
recently with a friend who is the president of a young but rapidly
growing manufacturing concern. The TV set happened to be
turned to one of the most popular quiz programs. The fellow
being quizzed had been on the show for several weeks. He could
answer questions on all sorts of subjects, many of which seemed
nonsensical.
After the fellow answered a particularly odd question, some-.
thing about a mountain in Argentina, my host looked at me and
said, "Howmuch do you think I'd pay that guy to work for me?"
"How much?" I asked.
"Not a cent over $300-not per week, not per month, but
for life. I've sized him up. That'expert' can't think. He can only
memorize. He's just a human encyclopedia, and I figure for $300
I can buy il prettygood set of encyclopedias. In fact, maybe that's
too much. Ninety percent of what that guy knows I can find in
a $2 almanac.
"What I want around me," he continued, "are people who
can solve problems, who can think up ideas.' People who can
dream and then develop the dream into a practical application;
an idea man can make money with me; a fact man can't."
Three Ways to Cure Intelligence Excusitis
Three easy ways to cure intelligence excusitis are:
1. Never underestimate your own intelligence, and never
overestimate the intelligence of others. Don't sell yourself

45. CURE YOURSELf Of EXCUSITIS,THE fAILURE DISEASE 39
short. Concentrate on your assets. Discover your superior
talents. Remember, it's not how many brains you've got
that matters. Rather, it's how you use your brains that
counts. Manage your brains instead of worrying about how
much IQ you've got.
2. Remind yourself several times daily, "My attitudes are more
important than my intelligence." At work and at home
practice positive attitudes. See the reasons why you can do
it, not the reasons why you can't. Develop an "I'm winning"
attitude. Put your intelligence to creative positive use. Use it
to fmd ways to win, not to prove you will lose.
3. Remember that the ability to think is of much greater
value than the ability to memorize facts. Use your mind
to create and develop ideas, to find new and better ways,
to do things. Ask yourself, '11m I using my mental ability
to make history, or am I using it merely to record history
made by others?"
3. "It's No Use. I'm Too Old (or Too Young)."
Age excusitis, the failure disease of never being the right age,
comes in two easily identifiable forms: the "I'm too old" variety
and the "I'm too young" brand.
You've heard hundreds of people of all ages explain their
mediocre performance in life something like this: 'Tm too old
(or too young) to break in now. I can't do what I want to do or
am capable of doing because of my age handicap."
Really, it's surprising how few people feel they are "just
right" age-wise. And it's unfortunate. This excuse has closed the

46. 40 CURE YOURSELF OF EXCUSITIS,THE FAILURE DISEASE
door of real opportunity to thousands of individuals. They think
their age is wrong, so they don't even bother to try.
The 'Tm too old" variety is the most common form of
age excusitis. This disease is spread in subtle ways. TV fiction
is produced about the big executive who lost his job because
of a merger and can't find another because he's too old. Mr.
Executive looks for months to find another job, but he can't, and
in the end, after contemplating suicide for a while, he decides to
rationalize that it's nice to be on the shelf.
Plays and magazine articles on the topic 'Why You Are
Washed Up at 40" are popular, not because they represent true
facts, but because they appeal to many worried minds looking
for an excuse.
How to Handle Age Excusitis
Age excusitis can be cured. A few years ago, while I was conduct-
ing a sales training program, I discovered a good serum that both
cures this disease and vaccinates you so you won't get it in the
first place.
In that training program there was a trainee named Cecil.
<::ecil, who was forty; wanted to shift over to set himself up as a
manufacturer's representative, but he thought he was too old.
'lfrer all," he explained, "j'd have to start from scratch. And I'm
too old for that now. I'm forty."
I talked with Cecil several times about his "old age" prob-
lem. I used the old medicine, "You're oniy as old as you feel,"
but I found I was getting nowhere. (Too often people retort with
"But I do feel old!")
Finally, I discovered a method that worked. One day after

47. CUR~ YOURSELF OF EXCUSlTIS,THE FAILURE DISEASE 41
a training session, I tried it on Cecil. I said, "Cecil, when does a
man's productive life begin?"
He thought a couple of seconds and, answered, "Oh, when
he's about twenty, I guess."
"Okay," I said, "now, when does a man's productive life end?"
Cecil answered, "Well, if he stays in good shape and likes
his work, I guess a man is still pretty useful when he's seventy
or SO,"
'1.11 right," I said, "a lot of folks are highiy productive after
they reach seventy, but let's agree with what you've just said, a
man's productive years stretch from twenty to seventy, That's
fifty years in between, or half a century. Cecil," I saicj, "you're
forty, How many years of productive life have you spent?"
"Twenty," he answered.
"And how many have you left?"
"Thirty," he replied.
"In other words, Cecil, you haven't even reached the half-
way point; you've used up only forty percent of your productive
years."
I looked at Cecil and realized he'd gotten the point.'He was
cured of age excusitis. Cecil saw he still had many opportunity-
filled years left. He switched from thinking ''I'm already old" to
'Tm still young." Cecil now realized that how old we are is not
important. It's one's attitude toward age that makes it a blessing
or a barricade.
Curing yourself of age excusitis often opens doors to
opportunities that you thought were locked tight. A relative of
mine spent years doing many different things-selling, operating
his own business, working in a bank-but he never quite found

48. 42 GUREYOURSELF OF EXGUSITIS,THE FAILURE DISEASE
what he really wanted to do most. Finally, he concluded that the
one thing he wanted more than anything else was to be a minis-
ter. But when he thought about it, he found he was too old. After
all, he was forty-five, had three young children and little money.
But fortunately he mustered all of his strength and told
himself, "Forty-five or not, I'm going to be a minister."
With tons of faith but little else, he enrolled in a five-year
ministerial training program in Wisconsin. Five years later he
was ordained as a minister and settled down with a fine congre-
gation in Illinois.
Old? Of course not. He still has twenty years of productive
life ahead of him. I talked with this man not long ago, and he said
to me, ''You know; if I had not made that great decision when I
was forty-five, I would have spent the rest of my life growing
old and bitter. Now I feel every bit as young as I did twenty-five
years ago."
And he almost looked it, too. When you lick age excusitis,
the natural result is to gain the optimism of youth and feel of
youth. When you beat down your fears of age limitations, you
add years to your life as well as success.
A former university colleague of mine provides an inter-
esting angle on how age excusitis was defeated. Bill' was gradu-
ated from Harvard in the 1920s. After twenty-four years in the
stockbrokerage business, during which time he made a modest
fortune, Bill decided he wanted to become a college professor.
Bill's friends warned him that he would overtax himself in the
rugged learning program ahead. But Bill was determined to
reach his goal and enrolled in the University of Illinois-at the
age of fifty-one. At fifty-five he had earned his degree. Today Bill

49. CURE YOURSELF OF EXcUSITIS,THE FAILURE DISEASE 43
is chairman of the Department of Economics at a fine liberal arts
college. He's happy, too. He smiles when he says, 'Tve got almost
a third of my good years left."
Old age is a failure disease. Defeat it by refusing to let it
hold you back.
When is a person 100 young? The 'Tm too young" variety of age
excusitis does much damage, too. About a year ago, a twenty-
three-year-old fellow named Jerry came to me with a problem.
Jerry was a fine young man. He had been a paratrooper in the
service and then had gone to college. While going to college,
Jerry supported his wife and son by selling for a large transfer-
and-storage company. He had done a terrific job, both in college
and for his company.
But todayJerry was worried. "Dr. Schwartz," he said, 'Tve
got a problem. My company has offered me the job of sales man-
ager. This would make me supervisor over eight salesmen."
"Congratulations, that's wonderful news!" I said. "But you
seem worried.H
"Well," he continued, "all eight men I'm to supervise are
from seven to twenty-one years older than I. What do you think
I should do? Can I handle it?"
'Jerry," I said, "the general manager of your company
obviously thinks you're old enough or he wouldn't have offered
you this job. Just remember these three points and everything
will work out just fine: first, don't be age conscious. Back on
the farm a boy became a man when he proved he could do the
work of a man. His number of birthdays had nothing to do
with it. And this applies to you. When you prove you are able

50. 44 CURE YOURSELF OF EXCUSITlS,THE FAILURE DISEASE
to handle the job of sales manager, you're automatically old
enough.
"Second, don't take advantage of your new 'gold bars.'
Show respect for the salesmen. Ask them for their suggestions.
Make them feel they are working for a team captain, not a dicta-
tor. Do this and the men will work with you, not against you.
"Third, get used to having older persons working for you.
Leaders in all fields soon fmd they are younger than many of the
people they supervise. So get used to having older men work for
you. It will help you a lot in the coming years, when even bigger
opportunities develop.
'lind remember, Jerry, your age won't be a handicap unless
you make it one."
Today Jerry's doing fine. He loves the transportation busi-
ness, and now he's planning to organize his own company in a
few years.
Youth is a liability only when the youth thinks it is. You
often hear. that certain jobs require "considerable" physical
maturity, jobs like selling securities and insurance. That you've
got to have either gray hair or no hair at all inorder to gain an
investor's confidence is plain nonsense:'What really matters is
how well you know your job. If you know your job and under-
stand people, you're sufficiently mature to handle it. Age ha~ no
real relation to ability, unless you convince yourself that years
alone will give you the stuff you need to make your mark.
Many young people feel that they are being held back
because of their youth. Now, it is true· that another person in
an organization who is insecure and job-scared may try to block.
your way forward, using age 01' some other reason.
But the people who really count in the company will not.

51. CURE YOURSELF OF EXCUSITIS,THE FAILURE DISEASE 45
They will give you as much responsibility as they feel you can
handle well. Demonstrate that you have ability and positive atti-
tudes and your youthfulness will be considered an advantage.
In quick recap, the cure for age excusitis is:
1. Look at your present age positively. Think, 'Tm still
young," not 'Tm already old." Practice looking forward· to new
horizons and gain the enthusiasm and the fee! of youth.
2. Compute how much productive time you have left.
Remember, a person age thirty still has 80 percent of his pro-
ductive life ahead of him. And the fifty-year-old still has a big 40
percent-the best 40 percent----{)f his opportunity years left. Life
is actually longer than most people think!
3. Invest future time in doing what you really want to do.
It's too late only when you let your mind go negative and think
it's too late. Stop thinking "I should have started years ago."
That's failure thinking. Instead think, 'Tm going to start nov,
my best years are ahead ofme." That's the way successful people
think.
4. "But My Case Is Different; I Attract Bad Lucie."
Recently, I heard a traffic engineer discuss highway safety. He
pointed out that upward of 40,000 persons are killed each year
in so-called traffic accidents. The main point of his talk was that
therds no such thing as a true accident. What we call an accident
is the result of human or mechanical failure, or a combination
of both..
. What this traffic expert was saying substantiates what wise
men throughout the ages have said: there is a causefor everything.
Nothing happens without a cause. There is nothing accidental
about the weather outside today. It is the result of specific causes.

52. 46 C~REYOURSELF OF EXCUSITIS,THE FAILURE OISEASE
And there is no reason to believe that human affairs are an excep-
tion.
Yet hardly a day passes that you do not hear someone blame
his problems on 'bad" luck. And it's a rare day that you do not
hear someone attribute another person's success to "good" luck.
Let me illustrate how people succumb to luck excusitis. I
lunched recendy with three young junior executives. The topic
of conversation that day was George C., who just yesterday had
been picked fi'om among their group for a major promotion.
Why did George get the position? These three fellows dug up
all sorts of reasons: luck, pull, bootlicking, George's wife and how
she flattered the boss, everything but the truth. The facts were that
George was simply better qualified. He had been doing a better
job. He was working harder. He had a more effective personality.
I also knew that the senior officers in the company had
spent much. time considering which one of the four would be
promoted. My three disillusioned friends should have realized
that top executives don't select major executives by drawing
names from a hat.
I was talking about the seriousness of luck excusitis not
long ago with a sales executive of a machine tool-manufacturing
company. He became excited about the problem and began to
talk about his own experience with it.
'Tve never heard it called that before," he said, "but it is
one of the most difficult problems every sales executive has to
wresdewith. Just yesterday a perfect example of what you~re
talking about happened in my company.
"One of the salesmen walked in about four 0'clock with
a $112,000 order for machine tools. Another. salesman, whose

53. CURE YOURSELF OF EXCUSITIS,THE FAILURE DISEASE 47
volume is so low he's a problem, was in the office at the time.
Hearing John tell the good news, he rather enviously congratu-
lated him and then said, 'Well, John, you're lucky again!'
"Nmv, what the weak salesman won't accept is that luck
had nothing to do with John's big order. John had been working
on that customer for months. He had talked repeatedly to a half-
dozen people out there. John had stayed up nights figuring out
exactly what was best for them. Then he got our engineers to
make preliminary designs of the equipment. John wasn't lucky,
unless you can call carefully planned work and patiently executed
plans luck."
Suppose luck were used to reorganize General Motors. Ifluck deter·
mined who does what and who goes where, every busines.s in
the nation would fall apart. Assume for a moment that General
Motors were to be completely reorganized on the basis ofluck.
To carry out the reorganization, the names of all employees
would be placed in a barrel. The first name drawn would be
president; the second name, the executive vice president, and so
on down the line.
Sounds stupid, doesn't it? Well, that's how luck would work.
People who rise to the top in any occupation-business
management, selling, law, engineering, acting, or what have
you~get there because they have superior attitudes and use their
good sense in applied hard work.
Conquer Lucl< Excusitis in Two Ways
1. Accept the law of canse and effect. Take a second look at
what appears to be someone's "good luck." You'll fmd that

54. 48 CURE YOURSELF OF EXcUSITlS,THE FAILURE DISEASE
not luck but preparation, planning, and success-producing
thinking preceded his good fortune. Take a second look at
what appears to be someone's 'bad luck." Look, and you'll
discover certain specific reasons. Mr. Success receives a set-
back; he learns and profits, But when Mr. Mediocre loses,
he fails to learn.
2. Don't be a wishful thinker. Don't waste your mental mus-
cles dreaming of an effortless way to win success. We don't
become successful simply through luck. Success comes
from doing those thiflgs and mastering those principles
that produce success. Don't count on luck for promotions,
victories, the good things in life. Luck simply isn't designed
to deliver these good things. Instead, just concentrate on
developing those qualities in yourself that will make you a
winner.

55. 3
BUILD CONFIDENCE AND DESTROY FEAR
FRIENDS MEAN WELL WHEN they say, "It's only your imagina-
tion. Don't worry. There's nothing to be afraid of."
But you and I know this kind of fear medicine never really
works. Such soothing remarks may give us fear relief for a few
minutes or maybe even a few hours. But the "it's-only-in-your-
imagination" treatment doesn't really build confidence and cure
fear.
Yes, fear is real. And we must recognize it exists before we
can conquer it.
Most fear today is psychological. Worry, tension, embar-
rassment, panic all stem from mismanaged, negative imagina-
tion. But simply knowing the breeding ground of fear doesn't
cure fear. If a physician discovers you have an infection in some
part of your body, he doesn't stop there. He proceeds with treat-
ment to cure the infection.
The old "it's-only-in-your-mind" treatment presumes fear
doesn't really exist. But it does. Fear is real. Fear is success enemy
number one. Fear stops people from capitalizing on opportunity;
fear wears down physicalvitality; fear actually makes people sick,

56. 50 BUiLO CONFIDENCE ANO OESTROY FEAR
causes organic difficulties, shortens life; fear closes your mouth
when you want to speak.
Fear-uncertainty, lack of confidence--explains why we
still have economic recessions. Fear explains why millions of
people accomplish little and enjoy little.
Truly, fear is a powerful force. In one way or another fear
prevents people from getting what they want from life.
Fear of all kinds and sizes is a form of psychological infec-
tion. We can cure a mental infection the same way we cure a
body infection-with specific, proved treatments.
First, though, as part of your pretreatment preparation,
condition yourself with this'fact: all confidence is acquired,
developed. No one is born with confidence. Those people you
know who radiate confidence, who have conquered worry, who
are at ease everywhere and all the time, acquired their confi-
dence, every bit of it.
You can, too. This chapter shows how.
During World War II the Navy made sure that all of its new
recruits either knew how to swim or learned how-the idea
being, of course, that the ability to swim might someday save
the sailor's life at sea.
Nonswimming recruits were put into swimming classes. I
watched a number of these training experiences. In a superficial
sort of way, it was amusing to see young, healthy, men terrified
by a few feet of water. One of the exercises I recall required the
new sailor to jump---not dive-from a board six feet in the air
into eight or more feet of water while a half-dozen expert s~im­
mel'S stood by.
In a deeper sense, it was a sad sight. The fear those young

57. BUilD CONFIDENCE AND DESTROY FEAR 51
men displayed was real. Yet all that stood between them and the
defeat of that fear was one drop into the water below. On more
than one occasion I saw young men "accidentally" pushed off the
board. The result: fear defeated.
This incident, familiar to thousands of former Navy men,
illustrates just one point: action cures fear. Indecision, postpone-
ment, on the other hand, fertilize fear.
Jot that down in your success rule book right now. Action
cures]far.
Action does cure fear. Several months ago a very troubled
executive in his early forties came to see me. He had a respon·
sible job as a buyer for a large retailing organization.
Worriedly, he explained, ''I'm afraid of losing my job. I've
got that feeling that my days are numbered."
"Why?" I asked.
"Well, the pattern is against me. Sales fignres in my depart-
ment are off seven percent frolll a year ago. This is pretty bad,
especially since the store's total sales are up six percent. I've made
a couple of unwise decisions recently, and I've been singled out
several times by the merchandise manager for not keeping pace
with the company's progress.
'Tve never felt quite like this before," he continued. 'Tve
lost my grip, and it shows. My assistant buyer senses it. The sales-
people see it, too. Other executives, of course, are aware that
I'm slipping. One buyer even suggested at a meeting of all head
buyers the other day that part of my line should be put in his
department, where, he said, 'It could make money for the store.'
It's like drowning and having a crowd of spectators just standing
there waiting for me to sink away."
The executive talked on, elaborating further on his predica-

58. 52 BUILD CONFIDENCE Atm DESTROY FEAR
ment. Finally I cut in and asked, 'What are you doing about it)
What are you trying to do to correct the situation?"
"Well," he answered, "there isn't muchI can do, I guess, but
hope for the best."
To this comment I asked, "Honestly; now; is hope enough?"
Pausing, but not giving him a chance to answer, I put another
question to him: "Why not take action to support your hope?"
"Go on," he said.
"Well, there are two kinds.of action that seem to fit your
case. First, start this afternoon to move those sales figures
upward. We've got to face it. There's a reason your sales are
slipping. Find it. Maybe you need a special sale to clear out your
slow-moving merchandise, so you'll be in a position to buy some
ftesh stock. Perhaps you can rearrange your display counters.
Maybe your salespeople need more enthusiasm.' I can't pin-
point what will turn your sales volume upward, but something
will. And it would probably be wise to talk privately with your
merchandise manager. He may be on the verge of putting you
out, but when you talk it over with him and ask his advice, he'll
certainly give you more time to work things out. It's too expen-
sive for the store to replace you as long as top management feels
there's a chance you'll fmd a solution."
I went on, "Then get your assistant buyers on the ball. Quit
acting like a drowning man. Let people around you know that
you're still alive."
Courage was again in his eyes. Then he asked, "You said
there are two kinds of action I should take. What's the second)"
"The second type of action, which you might say is an
insutance policy; is to let two or three of your closest business
fi-iends in the trade know you might consider an offer from

59. BUILD CONFIDENCE AND DESTROY FEAR .3
another store, assuming, of course, it is substantially better than
your present job.
"I don't believe your job will be insecure after you take
some affirmative action to get those sales figures on the rise. But
just in case, it's good to have an offer or two. Remember, it's ten
times easier for a man with a job toget another job than it is for
someone unemployeq to connect."
Two days ago this once-troubled executive called me.
"After ourtaikI buckled down. Imade a number of changes,
but the most basic one was with my salespeople. I used to hold
sales meetings once a week, but now I'm holding one every
morning. I've got those people really enthusiastic. I guess once
they saw some life in me they were ready to push harder too.
They were just waiting for me to start things moving again.
"Things sure are working out okay. Last week my sales
were well ahead of a year ago and much better than the store's
average.
"Oh, by the way," he continued, "I want to tell you some
other good news. I got two job offers since we talked. Naturally
I'm glad, but I've turned them both down since everything is
looking good here again."
When we face tough problems, we stay mired in. the mud
until we take action. Hope is a start. But hope needs action to
win victories.
Put the action ptinciple to work. Next time you experience
big fear or little fear, steady yourself Then search for an answer to
this question: What kind of action can I take to conquer my fear?
Isolate your fear. Then take appropriate action.
Below are some examples of fear and some possible action
cures.

60. 54 BUILD CONFIDENCE AND DESTROY FEAR
TYPE OF FEAR
1. Embarrassment because of
personal appearance.
2. Fear of losing an important
customer.
ACTION
Improve it. Go to a barbershop
or beauty salon. Shine your
shoes. Get your clothes cleaned
and pressed. In general, prac-
tice better grooming. It doesn't
always take new clothes.
Work doubly hard to give better.
service. Correct anything that
may have caused customers to
lose confidence in you.
3. Fear of failing an examination. Convert worry tiIl}.e into study
4. Fear of dungs totally beyond
your control.
5. Fear of being physically hurt
by something you can't con-
trol, such as a tornado or an
airplane out o,f control.
6. Fear of what other people
may think and say.
time.
'fum your attention to helping
to relieve the fear of others.
Pray.
Switch your attention to some~
thing totally difterent. Go out
into your yard and pull up
weeds. Play with your children.
Go to a movie.
Make sure that what you plan to
do is right. Then do it. No one
ever does anything worthwhile
for which he is not criticized.
7. Fear of making an investment Analyze all factors. Then be
or purchasing a home. decisive. Make a decision and
stick with it. Trust your own
judgment.
8. Fear of people. Put them in proper perspective.
Remember, the other person is
just another human being pretty
much like yourself

61. BUILD CONFIDENCE AND DESTROY FEAR 55
Use this two-step procedure to cure fear and win confidence:
1. Isolate your fear. Pin it down. Determine exactly what you
are afraid of.
2. Then take action. There is some kind of action for any kind
of fear.
And remember, hesitation only enlarges, magnifies the fear.
Take action promptly. Be decisive.
Much lack of self-confidence can be traced directly to a misman-
aged memory.
Your brain is very much like a bank. Every day you make
thought deposits in your "mind bank." These thought deposits
grow and become your memory. When you settle down to think
or when you face a problem, in effect you say to your memory
bank, ''What do I already know about this?"
Your memory bank automatically answers and supplies
you with bits of information relating to this situation that you
deposited on previous occasions. Your memory; then, is the basic
supplier of raw material for your new thought.
The teller in your memory bank is tremendously reliable.
He never crosses you up. Ifyou approach him and say; "Mr. Teller,
let me withdraw some thoughts I deposited in the past proving
I'm inferior to just about everybody else," he'll say; "Certainly; sir.
Recall how you failed two times previously when you tried this?
Recall what your sixth-grade teacher told you about your inabil-
ity to accomplish things ... Recall what you overheard some
fellow workers saying about you ... Recall ..."

62. 56 BUILD CONFIDENCE AND DESTROY FEAR
And on and on Mr. Teller goes, digging out of your brain
thought after thought that proves you are inadequate.
But suppose you visit your memory teller with this request:
"Mr. Teller, I face a difficult decision. Can you supply me with
any thoughts which will give me reassurance?"
And again Mr. Teller says, "Certainly, sir," but this time
he delivers thoughts you deposited earlier that say you can
succeed. "Recall the excellent job you did in a similar situation
before.... Recall how much confidence Mr. Smith placed in
you.... Recall what your good friends said about you.... Re-
call ..."
Mr. Teller, perfectly responsive, lets you withdraw the
thought deposits you want to withdraw. After all; it is your
bank.
Here are two specific things to do to build confidence
through efficient management of your memory bank.
1. Oeposit only positive thoughts in your memory bank. Let's face it
squarely: everyone encounters plenry of unpleasant, embarrass-
ing, and discouraging situations. But unsuccessful and success-
ful people deal with these situations in directly opposite ways.
Unsuccessful people take them to heart, so to speak. They dwell
on the unpleasant situations, thereby giving them a good start in
their memory. They don't take their minds away from them. At
night the unpleasant situation is the last thing they think about.
Confident, successful people, on the other hand, "don't
give it another thought." Successful people specialize in putting
positive thoughts into their memory bank.
What kind of performance would your car deliver if every
morning before you left for work you scooped np a double hand-

63. BUILD CDIIFIDENCE AND DESTROY FEAR 57
ful of dirt and put it into your crankcase? That fIne engine would
soon be a mess, unable to do whatyou want it to do. Negative,
unpleasant thoughts deposited in your mind affect your mind the
same way. Negative thoughts produce needless wear and tear on
your mental motor. They create worry, fi'ustration, and feelings
of. inferiority. They put you beside the road while others drive
ahead.
00 this: in these moments when you're alone with your
thoughts-when you're driving your carol' eating alone-recall
pleasant, positive experiences. Put good thoughts in your mem-
ory bank. This boosts confIdence. It gives you that "I-sure-feel-
good" feeling. It helps keep your body functioning right, too.
Here is an excellent plan. Just before you go to sleep,
deposit good thoughts in your memory bank. Count your bless-
ings. Recall the many good things you have to be thankful for:
your wife or husband, your children, your friends, your health.
Recall the good things you saw people do today. Recall your little
victories and accomplishments. Go over the reasons why you are
glad to be alive.
2. Withdraw only positive thoughts from your memory bank. I was
closely associated several years ago in Chicago with a fIrm of
psychological consultants. They handled many types of cases,
but mostly marriage problems and psychological adjustment
situations, all dealing with mind matters.
One afternoon as I was talking with the head of the fIrm
about his profession and his techniques for helping the seriously
maladjusted person, he made this remark: "You know, there
would be no need for my services if people would do just one
thing."

64. 58 BUILD CONFIDENCE AND DESTROY FEAR
"What's that?" I asked eagerly.
"Simply this: destroy their negative thoughts before those
thoughts become mental monsters."
"Most individuals I try to help," he continued, "are operat-
ingtheir own private museum of mental horror. Many marriage
difficulties, for example, involve the 'honeymoon monster.' The
honeymoon wasn't as satisfactory as one or both of the marriage
partners had hoped, but instead of burying the memory, they
reflected on it hundreds of times ~ntil it was a giant obstacle to
successful marital relationships. They come to me as much as
five or ten years later.
'Usually, of course, my clients don't see where their trouble
lies. It's my job to uncover and explain the source of their diffi-
culty to them and help them to see what a triviality it really is.
''A person can make a mental monster out of almost any
unpleasant happening," my psychologist friend went on. ''A job
failure, ajilted romance, a bad investment, disappointment in the
behavior of a teenage child-these are common monsters I have
to help troubled people destroy."
It is clear that any negative thought, if fertilized with
repeated recall, can develop into a real mind monster, breaking
down confidence and paving the way to serious psychological
difficulties.
In an article in Cosmopolitan magazine, "The Drive Toward
Self-Destruction," Alice Mulcahey pointed out that upward
of 30,000 Americans commit suicide each year and another
100,000 attempt to take their own lives. She went on to say,
"There is shocking· evidence that millions of other people are
killing themselves by slower, less obvious methods. Still others
are committing spiritual rather than physical suicide, constantly
,

65. BUILD CONFIDENCE AND DESTROY FEAR 59
seeking out ways to humiliate, punish, and generally diminish
themselves."
The psychologist. friend mentioned before told me how
he helped one of his patients to stop committing "mental and
spiritual suicide." "This patient," he explained, "was in her late
thirties and had two children. In lay terminology she suffered
from severe depression. She looked back on every incident of
her life as being an unhappy experience. Her school days, her
marriage, the bearing of her children, the places she had lived
all were thought of negatively. She volunteered that she couldn't
remember ever having been truly happy. And since what one
remembers from the past colors what one sees in the present, she
saw nothing but pessimism and darkness.
"When I asked her what she saw in a picture which I
showed hel; she said, 'It looks like there will be a terrible thun-
derstorm tonight.' That was the gloomiest interpretation of the
picture I've yet heard." (The picture was a large oil painting of
the sun low in the sky and a jagged, rocky coastline. The paint-
ing was very cleverly done and could be construed to be either'
a sunrise or a sunset. The psychologist commented to me that
what a person sees in the picture is a clue to his personality. Most
people say it is a sunrise. But the depressed, mentally disturbed
person nearly always says it's a sunset.)
':As a psychologist, I can't change what already is in a per-
son's memory. But I can, with the patient's cooperation, help the
individual to see his past in a different light. That's the general
treatment I used on this woman. I worked with her to help her to
see joy and pleasure in her past instead of total disappointment.
After six months she began to show improvement. At that point,
I gave her a special assignment. Each day I asked her to think of

66. 60 BUILD CONFIDENCE Arm OESTROY FEAR
and write down three specific reasons she has to be happy. Then
at her next appointment with me on Thursdays rd go over her
list with her. I continued this sort of treatment for three months.
Her improvement was very satisfactory. Today that woman is
very well adjusted ro !;leI' situation. She's positive and certainly as
'happy as most people."
When this woman quit drawing negatives from her mem-
ory bank, she was headed toward recovery.
Whether the psychological problem is big or little, the cure
comes when one learns to quit drawing negatives from one's
memory bank and withdraws positives instead.
Don't build mental monsters. Refuse to withdraw the
unpleasant thoughts from your memory bank. When you
remember sitmttions of any kind, concentrate on the good part
of the experience; forget the bad. Bury it. If you find yourself
thinking about the negative side, turn your mind ofr com-
pletely.
And here is something very significant and very encourag-
ing. Your mind wants you to forget the unpleasant. If you will
just cooperate, unpleasant memories will gradually shrivel and
the teller in your memory bank will cancel them out.
Dr. Melvin,S. Hattwick, noted advertising psychologist, in
commenting on our ability to remember, says, "When the feel-
ing aroused is pleasant, the advertisement has a better chance
to be remembered. When the feeling aroused is unpleasant, the
reader or listener tends to forget the advertisement message.
The unplea~ant runs counter to what we want, we don't want
to remember it."
In brief, it really is easy to forget the unpleasant if we sim-
ply refuse to recall it. Withdraw only positive thoughts from your